Dedham - Is it a good town to move to (buying)? (Boston: apartments, rental)

[mmyk72]

Wondering if Dedham is a good choice. I'm house-hunting for a small 2-3 bedroom 1100 sq ft house. Already have one in mind on the market that fits my budget.

Some things I'd like to know (feel free to add any other thoughts). Thanks in Advance!

- Is the financial situation of the town healthy? Will property tax likely go up a lot in the short term?
- What do you like / dislike about Dedham?
- How's the area around Endicott train station in terms of desirability, perception, etc.?
- Is that area safe to walk around at night, leave doors unlocked during the day, etc.?
- Is it a town where property values have a ways to go down?

[DarinsMom]

I grew up in Dedham so I'll give you my perspective on your questions.

- Is the financial situation of the town healthy? Will property tax likely go up a lot in the short term? Property taxes in Dedham are pretty high (in my opinion) and it's quite a financially healthy town. Schools are decent and strong peforming.

- What do you like / dislike about Dedham? I miss the old Dedham of my youth HA! I do miss it, but I don't think I could move back there. First off, I couldn't afford it. The taxes are high for me (I live on the Cape) and it has been built up quite a bit since I left in 1997 - we didn't have Legacy Place....

- How's the area around Endicott train station in terms of desirability, perception, etc.? Endicott Train Station area is not a bad area. Actually there are very few areas of Dedham that I would call "bad" areas.


- Is that area safe to walk around at night, leave doors unlocked during the day, etc.? In this day and age I would never recommend you leave your doors unlocked But Dedham, during the day? You'll be fine. At night? Yup. You'll be fine. That area is relatively quiet. I used to walk by myself at night all the time and never once had a worry - but again that was almost 20 years ago.

- Is it a town where property values have a ways to go down? Let me give you an example. My parents sold their house in 1994 for $140k. It's now worth $350k. I don't see Dedham hitting the bottom of the market like other towns because of it's proximity to Boston.

Good luck to you. I do love Dedham and every chance I get, I go back to visit....

[goyguy]

What I dislike about Dedham is what a lot of people appreciate it for. It's "suburban" to a fault - overwhelmingly White (read Irish Catholic) population, sprawling subdivisions dating back to post-WWII at most, big-box stores with "acres of parking." By the same token, there are also some very nice older sections of town such as along High and Washington St's which contrast with areas like the sprawling "Peanut Butter Valley." Dedham is also old enough to have a real town center, complete with an independent movie theater, that you can easily and safely walk around. For many years I had good friends whose house was right on High St, a fair distance from the nearest bus line, and not once did I hesitate before going to and from there on foot no matter what the hour. However, only the naive or foolish leave their doors unlocked. All else aside, every 'burb has its "alienated youth" who break into homes for fun and profit.

A home investment in Dedham would be a solid one although not likely to result in a huge windfall when it comes time to sell again. The place where I live in Cambridge has tripled in market value since I bought it in 1992. Prices throughout the region skyrocketed from the late '90s onward until 2-3 years ago and are still "correcting." So all the stories of major profit - or massive regret - that you hear are not a good standard to go by. Home values in the short run are likely to remain flat if not get lower no matter where you look, except in areas that unlike Dedham are experiencing dramatic changes for better or worse.

The Dedham public schools are better than average but not stellar. Its high school doesn't act as a conveyor belt to the Ivy League the way Boston Latin and some of the upper-crust suburbs' schools do. To my way of thinking a kid winds up better adjusted in less of a pressure cooker environment anyway. Within the family that I knew from High St, one was a single teen-age mom who did graduate from high school and went on to style hair for a living. Her brother was a dedicated punk rocker who eventually did pretty well at a state college. And her son - after a "wild oats" phase - settled into preppie mode. He once completed the Boston Marathon, and worked his way up up up at a bank while earning a finance degree. All were delightful and happy people who probably would've been miserable in a town with rampant snobbery like Lexington, Cohasset, or Wellesley. Of course Dedham does have that sort of hoity-toity element within its population, whose offspring get admitted to prestigious universities, but my point is that they don't set the tone of the community.

As has already been pointed out, Dedham's taxes are on the steep side. But as much as a bane to the social and physical environment as big-box stores and cineplexes and chain restaurants happen to be, their revenue also means good fiscal health to the town. Unless you count the old mill beside Mother Brook, Dedham never had a manufacturing-based economy. There wasn't an auto plant or steel mill to feed the municipal coffers and then leave them wanting after collapsing.

So, if the OP seeks whitebread suburbia with a down-to-earth feeling and relatively affordable houses Dedham would assuredly fit the bill.

[andrea5150]

I disagree with goyguy's opinion that Dedham is overwhelmingly white Catholic and has lots of sprawling subdivisions. I don't think that is the case at all. Though everyone is entitled to their opinion, you could easily look up the statistics.
I grew up in Dedham, my family still lives there and I work in Dedham. It has changed alot in the last 10 years. It is much more diverse than it was when I was growing up and also has been very built up with alot of businesses etc. It is a bit too urban for my taste. There is not much green space in Dedham at all. The house lots are pretty small for the most part, there are alot of old houses and taxes are high. That being said, the town is finacially stable and I wouldn't think a bad investment depending on what part of town you buy in. I would avoid buying in East Dedham. It's certainly not a dangerous part of town but not my "cup of tea". It is the lower income section with alot of rental properties and 2 housing projects. It isn't the cleanest looking part of town and there is graffiti on some of the buildings etc. That might not bother some people but it certainly isn't great for property values.
The section of town near Endicott off of East Street near the Estate is nice. However be aware that with the building of Legacy Place, the apartments at Station 250 and Jefferson Place that area of town has become a cut through. Especially Jefferson Street (which was just recently repaved and hopefully won't become a speedway).
The schools are *ok*, nothing to brag about but not horrible either. The elementary school for that section of town would be Oakdale. I went to that school growing up and it is still a very nice school community. Dedham has it's positives but also has things that I feel are negatives and that is why I chose not to stay there.

[mmyk72]

Really good info. I appreciate all your thoughts and insight. Thanks!!

[trekmadonne]

I agree with everything that goyguy says about Dedham. His post is spot-on, both the good and the bad. I have raised three kids here (and still live here). Dedham High suited my older son just fine: he felt on top of the world most days, as an athlete, living the dream. UMass Amherst (business) was fine for him. Younger son gets stellar grades and is aiming for the Ivies. Older brother warned, "Don't send him to Dedham High." We didn't.

[Parsec]

Originally Posted by mmyk72

Wondering if Dedham is a good choice. I'm house-hunting for a small 2-3 bedroom 1100 sq ft house. Already have one in mind on the market that fits my budget.

Some things I'd like to know (feel free to add any other thoughts). Thanks in Advance!

- Is the financial situation of the town healthy? Will property tax likely go up a lot in the short term?
- What do you like / dislike about Dedham?
- How's the area around Endicott train station in terms of desirability, perception, etc.?
- Is that area safe to walk around at night, leave doors unlocked during the day, etc.?
- Is it a town where property values have a ways to go down?

At first I was wondering why you would want to move from Natick to Dedham, then I realized someone brought this thread back from the dead.